LARGO — The City Commission unanimously on March 17 approved a 3% salary increase for City Manager Henry Schubert that will increase his annual salary to $208,296 for fiscal year 2020.

LARGO — How far should city officials go to enforce Largo’s recently enacted ordinance that bans the use of single-use plastics from being served at special events in city facilities and functions?

A Largo couple boarded an Italian-flagged cruise ship last month for what was to be a carefree excursion through the Caribbean and on to Europe. Instead, they have encountered anxiety and uncertainty after fellow passengers fell ill with the COVID-19 coronavirus.

LARGO — “Surprised” is not the word John Tatum would use to describe the public’s response to the President Donald Trump-themed coffee shop he and partner Cliff Gephart opened in Largo on Feb. 22. The shop at 13344 66th St. has been very busy.

LARGO — Three development projects that promise to bring retail commerce, jobs, hotel rooms and affordable housing to Largo are respectfully moving along as planned toward their late 2020 completion, company officials said.

LARGO — To say Terry Hitchcock is “no quitter” might be shortchanging him at a little bit.

LARGO — Generally speaking, having a close encounter with a poisonous snake isn't standard operating procedure for a pastor.

LARGO — Largo Medical Center may have already performed its first heart transplant procedure by the time you finish this article.

LARGO — The first time Keith Kunzig painted his face for a football game was more to distract his brother from a bad breakup than it was about cheering on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

LARGO — Taylor Layner knows the Largo High varsity baseball program has made the postseason only once this century, in 2015, and the Packers have reached double-digit wins just twice in the past decade.

LARGO — On a crisp and cool afternoon Jan. 25, dozens of visitors — including the four-legged kind — enjoyed the amenities of Eagle Lake Park, which opened nearly 10 years go.

LARGO — Largo Police Department’s K-9 team, dubbed Team Murphy, has done this city proud.

Is music our second language? And if so, can it be a tool to communicate feelings and stir memories from long ago? Local elder care professionals think so, and are putting their belief to practice by offering a new music therapy-based educational series for caregivers.

LARGO — Two development projects on East Bay Drive took respective steps forward by being given the go-ahead by the City Commission at its Jan. 21 meeting.

Without financial help from the city, the West Bay Lofts project planned for the 500 and 600 blocks of West Bay Drive may collapse before construction even begins.

LARGO — The City Commission asked the city attorney to draft a possible transparency regulation covering retail stores selling dogs and cats that operate in the city during its Jan. 14 work session.

LARGO — All rocks are not created equal.

LARGO — Officials have given the go-ahead for phase one of the city’s estimated $25 million project to build a new city hall complex to serve as a development catalyst to its downtown area.

LARGO — Optimism abounded in June when city and community leaders gathered downtown for a groundbreaking of Largo’s first mixed-use project, West Bay Lofts.

LARGO — Three major projects on the west side of Largo are making progress and on schedule, city officials say. 

LARGO — One of the biggest complaints the city receives each year involves vehicles speeding in residential neighborhoods, according to elected officials and staff. 

LARGO — City officials are looking at investing up to an estimated $22.5 million to build “deep injection wells” to serve as a third mechanism for managing wastewater.

LARGO — The door opened this past year to plenty of redevelopment and roadway projects.

LARGO — Despite an increased effort to lobby legislators and secure state funding for projects, the city in recent years has been shut out of the final budget.

LARGO — Traditionally, Santa Claus is carried on a sled powered by his magical reindeer. But, hey, this is Florida. Sleds and reindeer are in short supply, so head to downtown Largo on Saturday, Dec. 21, and you might catch a glimpse of the big man himself rolling down the street on a motorc…

LARGO — City officials are moving forward with plans to convert the city’s vehicle fleet to electric or alternative fuel by 2030, by drafting an alternative fuel-vehicle purchasing policy as part of that conversion.

LARGO – Three Pinellas County military organizations – the St. Petersburg and Clearwater chapters of the Military Officers Association of America and the Military Organization of World Wars — hosted an event honoring National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day at the Bayou Club.

Though the attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to the United States' entry into World War II, is remembered nationally on Dec. 7 each year, the MOAA and MOWW program took place Dec. 6.

LARGO — The city’s reclaimed water system is back up and running, officials announced Dec. 10.

LARGO — Housing developers in search of a home for their projects continue to look Largo’s way. 

LARGO — The economy has not been kind to the game of golf the past 20 years. Fewer golfers are hitting the links and several courses in Pinellas County have closed.

LARGO — The city’s reclaimed water system will stay offline for an indefinite period of time as a result of an increase in fecal coliform bacteria that has baffled environmental officials.

Holiday Stroll

LARGO — Thanks to some technological upgrades, life is getting easier for Largo police officers and dispatchers.